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The Diaphysis: Nonsurgical Treatment

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Simple and Complex Fractures of the Humerus

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Abstract

Fractures of the humeral shaft are common, account for approximately 3 % of all orthopedic injuries, and result in a significant burden to society from lost productivity and wages. Nonoperative management continues as the mainstay for treatment of the majority of these injuries, with acceptable healing in the majority patients. Surgical treatment is generally reserved for open fractures, polytrauma patients, ipsilateral humeral shaft and forearm fractures, and cases in which there is a failure to tolerate or maintain alignment in a functional brace. This conservative approach is in contrast to common practice in the Western world, where there is a strong tendency to treat nearly all fractures operatively, driven by aggressive surgeons using the portfolio offered to treat these fractures surgically and strongly assisted in this purpose by the industry. The modern DRG-driven reimbursement policy in addition shifts the pendulum even more toward operative therapy; hence, conservative fracture treatment is very poorly refunded in this system.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Trauma, Hand Surgery and Upper Extremity Reconstruction, Ortopedisk Avdeling, Sentralsykehuset Førde, Førde, 6807, Norway

    Konrad Mader

  2. Department of Surgical Sciences, Medical Faculty, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Konrad Mader

  3. Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Konrad Mader

  4. Section Trauma, Hand and Upper Extremity Reconstruction, Ortopedisk Avdeling, Sentralsykehuset Førde, Førde, 6807, Norway

    Simone Mader & Per-Olof Berntsson

  5. Orthopaedisk Avdeling, Danderyds Sykehuset, Stockholm, Sweden

    Per-Olof Berntsson

Authors
  1. Konrad Mader
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  2. Simone Mader
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  3. Per-Olof Berntsson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Konrad Mader .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, CTO Hospital Turin, Turin, Italy

    Filippo Castoldi

  2. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Mauriziano-Umberto I Hospital, Turin, Italy

    Davide Blonna

  3. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Mauriziano-Umberto I Hospital, Turin, Italy

    Marco Assom

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Mader, K., Mader, S., Berntsson, PO. (2015). The Diaphysis: Nonsurgical Treatment. In: Castoldi, F., Blonna, D., Assom, M. (eds) Simple and Complex Fractures of the Humerus. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5307-6_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5307-6_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-5306-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-5307-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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